The San Marino national football team (Italian: Nazionale di calcio di San Marino) is the national football team of San Marino, controlled by the San Marino Football Federation (FSGC). The team represents the second smallest population of any UEFA member.

The first official game played by a San Marino team was a 4–0 defeat in a European Championships qualifier by Switzerland in 1990. Previously, a San Marino side played an unofficial match against a Canadian Olympic team in 1986, losing 1–0 (goal: James Grimes), since making their competitive bow, San Marino have competed in the qualifiers of every European Championship and World Cup, but have never won a match in either competition. They have only ever won one game, beating Liechtenstein 1–0 in a friendly match on 28 April 2004.

Until November 2014, San Marino were tied in last place in the FIFA World Rankings, a run that lasted since the rankings were given a new calculation methodology, they were tied for last with Bhutan, (208th) in the October 2014 rankings,[1] a 0–0 draw with Estonia during the Euro 2016 qualifying rounds ended their tenure at the foot of the rankings. The national side scored their first away goal in fourteen years against another Baltic side, Lithuania, during the same qualifying rounds.

San Marino's national team is often considered the worst national side in the history of the sport, having only ever won a single match of the 145 they've played, conceded 634 goals and scored only 23, conceding an average of 4 goals per game.[2]

Though the San Marino Football Federation formed in 1931, the federation did not establish a national team until 1986, when a team representing the Federation played Canada's Olympic team in an unofficial international. San Marino gained affiliation to governing bodies FIFA and UEFA in 1988,[3] allowing the team to participate in major championships. Prior to this, Sammarinese players had been considered Italian in international football contexts.[4]

San Marino's first match in a FIFA sanctioned competition was against Switzerland on 14 November 1990 in a qualifier for the 1992 European Championships. San Marino lost 4–0, and went to lose all eight qualifiers, the team particularly struggled in away matches, losing every one by at least four goals. San Marino scored only one goal, a penalty in a 3–1 defeat at home by Romania,[5] and conceded 33 goals in total.[6]

For their first World Cup qualifying campaign, San Marino were drawn in a group with England, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Turkey. The opening match resulted in a 10–0 hammering at the hands of Norway, the return match was less one-sided, finishing 2–0 to the Norwegians. A 4–1 defeat in Turkey saw San Marino score their first World Cup goal, and a 0–0 draw against the same opposition on 10 March 1993 gave them their first ever point; in their final qualifier, against England, Davide Gualtieri scored the then-fastest goal in World Cup Qualifying history—after 8.3 seconds—though the team went on to lose 7–1.[7] San Marino finished the campaign with one point, and conceded 46 goals in 10 matches.[8]

The team's qualification campaign for Euro 1996 followed a similar pattern to that of the previous European championships, as they lost every game. A match away to Finland gave San Marino their first goal away from home in the European championships, but the team lost 4–1,[9] their only other goal came in a 3–1 home defeat by the Faroe Islands; the two wins over San Marino were the only points gained by the Faroe Islands in the group. In the return match, a 3–0 scoreline in Toftir, is the Faroe Islands record competitive win.[10]

Even by Sammarinese standards, qualification for the 1998 World Cup was disappointing. Losing every game by three goals or more, San Marino failed to score a single goal,[11] this is the only World Cup qualifying tournament in which they have failed to score. Qualification for Euro 2000 again resulted in defeats in every game, the closest game was against Cyprus, a 1–0 defeat on 18 November 1998.[12]

In April 2001, San Marino gained their first ever away point, drawing 1–1 with Latvia in Riga,[13] the team ended the 2002 World Cup qualifying group with a new best of three goals, though one of these came in a 10–1 defeat by Belgium. In Euro 2004 qualifying San Marino lost all eight matches, failing to score, the closest result was a 1–0 home defeat by Latvia, with the winner scored in the last minute.[14]

In April 2004, San Marino gained their first, and as of September 2016 only, win in their 65th attempt, a 1–0 victory over Liechtenstein in a friendly on 28 April 2004 courtesy of a fifth-minute goal by Andy Selva, the match was Martin Andermatt's debut as Liechtenstein manager.[15] Results during qualification for the 2006 World Cup followed a similar vein to previous qualifying groups. Matches were generally one-sided defeats, with the exception of single goal defeats at home by Lithuania and Belgium.[16]

San Marino's opening Euro 2008 qualifying match resulted in a record 13–0 defeat at home by Germany on 6 September 2006,[17] they scored only twice and conceded fifty-seven goals in losing all twelve matches, although the home matches against Ireland, Cyprus and Wales were each lost by a single goal.[18]

In the qualification campaign for the 2010 World Cup, they lost all ten matches played and failed to qualify. They conceded 47 goals in those fixtures, including 10 in a defeat by Poland, which became Poland's highest scoring victory of all time,[19] and scored just once, in a 3–1 defeat by Slovakia.[20]The Qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012 started in a similar way, the first nine matches all being defeats with an aggregate of 49 goals conceded and none scored, their best result being a one-goal loss to Finland at home, with the worst being a heavy 11–0 loss to the Netherlands, which became the Netherlands' highest scoring victory of all time and San Marino's worst-ever away defeat.[21] This was then followed up by two lighter defeats, a 5–0 home loss against Sweden, before completing the campaign with a 4–0 away loss to Moldova.

On 10 September 2013, Alessandro Della Valle scored San Marino's first competitive goal in five years, with the score 0–1 to Poland in the Serravalle stadium, he headed in a free-kick in the 22nd minute, beating A.F.C. Bournemouth goalkeeper Artur Boruc at his front post. Poland then regained the lead a minute later, eventually winning 5–1, it was the first international goal of any kind scored by San Marino since the national team lost 3–2 at home to Malta, the second time (after a 2–2 friendly draw against Liechtenstein away in 2003) the national team has scored more than once in any given international at senior level.

On 15 November 2014, San Marino drew 0–0 at home against Estonia,[22] it was the first time in ten years that the team had not lost a game, ending a 61–match losing streak,[22] and securing the country's first ever point in a European Championship qualifier.[22]

San Marino play home matches at the San Marino Stadium, a municipally owned stadium in Serravalle which also hosts the matches of club side San Marino Calcio, it has a capacity of 7,000.[23] Crowds are low, and on occasion travelling supporters outnumber the Sammarinese support, for example, in the fixture against the Republic of Ireland in February 2007, 2,500 of the 3,294 crowd were Irish supporters.[24][25]

San Marino once had the smallest population of any UEFA country,[23] until the May 2013 election of Gibraltar,[26] the republic has never won a competitive fixture and its poor record has led the country to gain a very low reputation in world football. A 2004 1–0 friendly win against Liechtenstein remains their sole victory to date.

The national side is mainly composed of amateur players. Only a small number of players are professionals, with many holding second jobs outside of the sport, their 13–0 defeat at home by Germany is a European Championship record,[17] and they have conceded ten goals on four other separate occasions.

In the FIFA World Rankings, San Marino traditionally have the lowest rank of any UEFA country, since the creation of FIFA rankings in 1992, San Marino's average position has been 176th.[27]

In 2001, Latvia manager Gary Johnson resigned after failing to beat San Marino in a World Cup qualifier,[28] the Republic of Ireland's 2–1 win in February 2007 (due to a last-second goal) resulted in scathing press criticism.[29]

In January 2006, the Sammarinese Football Association named Massimo Bonini as their greatest ever player.[4] Three-times Italian Serie A champion, he is the only Sammarinese player to have won an official international competition including the European Champions' Cup and the Intercontinental Cup. Bonini represented Italy at under-21 level in the early 1980s, and he played for Juventus from 1981 to 1988, but was prevented from gaining full honours due to a rule change.[4] By the time San Marino became a full UEFA member, Bonini was in his thirties, but gained 19 caps between 1990 and 1995.[37]

After retiring from playing, Bonini became San Marino's manager,[4] succeeding Giorgio Leoni, he held the position until 1998, when he was replaced by Giampaolo Mazza. As of 2012, Mazza is the longest-serving manager of any European national team. Though he gave up his position after their 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualification campaign, giving way to former u-21s boss Pierangelo Manzaroli.[38]

The appearance record for San Marino is held by Andy Selva, who has 74 caps, he is also the record goalscorer with eight goals.[39]

San Marino's player Davide Gualtieri scored the second fastest goal ever in a Fifa match against England; in the match, which took place in Bologna, Italy, San Marino had the kick-off and the ball was quickly played through the inside-right channel. England defender Stuart Pearce attempted a back-pass to goalkeeper David Seaman. Pearce's pass was under-hit and Gualtieri ran on to touch the ball past Seaman, the goal was timed at 8.3 seconds, which remains the fastest World Cup goal scored in either qualifying or the finals. England took 20 minutes to equalise and eventually finished winning the match 7–1.

1.
San Marino Calcio
–
San Marino Calcio is a Sanmarinese football club based in Serravalle. The club was founded in 1960 as S. S. Serenissima, Serenissima merged with S. S. Juvenes in 1973, changing its name to A. C. San Marino and in 1988–89 to its current name, San Marino Calcio, currently it plays in Serie D. The club was founded as Società Sportiva Serenissima in 1960 by the San Marino Football Federation, the club was later purchased by Sanmarinese and Italian entrepreneurs. The foundation year is disputed, mainly due to another team sponsored by the San Marino Football Federation, called Libertas-Tre Penne. The crest of Tre Penne is still visible on that of San Marino Calcio, Serenissima also inherited Libertas-Tre Pennes colors. San Marino Calcio is the professional football team in the Republic of San Marino that is allowed to play exclusively in the Italian football league system. Since the San Marino Football League is completely amateur, the club is also the professional team in the Republic. Another team from San Marino, A. C. Juvenes/Dogana, San Marino began playing in 1960 in the Seconda Categoria, since the Terza Categoria did not exist in the Italian football league system at that time. After being promoted from the Seconda and Prima Categoria, the team playing in the higher level. They continued to play in the Prima Categoria for the four seasons until they won the championship and were promoted to the Promozione again in the 1979–80 season. San Marinos stay in the Promozione was short lived, however, the team established themselves as a yo-yo club as they were once again promoted to the Promozione as champions in the 1984–85 season. The team then saw back-to-back championships as they won the Promozione the following season, and were promoted for the first time to the Serie D, the highest amateur league in Italy. San Marinos success continued as they finished in place in Serie D in the 1986–87 season. In the 1988–89 season, the team appeared in the lowest level of the Italian professional league for the first time, San Marino became a joint stock company and changed its name from A. C. San Marino to San Marino Calcio, the renamed team was relegated to Serie D in the 1989–90 season after finishing second-last in Serie C2. After finishing 17th in the 1991–92 season San Marino Calcio were relegated again, this time to the Eccellenza, in the 1995–96 season San Marino Calcio were relegated to the Eccellenza again after a three-year stay in Serie D, but they were again promoted in the 1996–97 season. The clubs success was due in part to the appointment of the San Marino national football team manager Giampaolo Mazza, in the 1999–2000 season San Marino Calcio were promoted to the Serie C2 as champions of Serie D

2.
San Marino Football Federation
–
The San Marino Football Federation is the governing body of football in San Marino. It organises the San Marino football league, a cup, a super cup. It is based in the city of San Marino, the FSGC also helped to create the club San Marino Calcio, which plays in Serie D, the fourth division of the Italian league. Official site San Marino at FIFA site San Marino at UEFA site

3.
UEFA
–
The Union of European Football Associations is the administrative body for association football in Europe, although several member states are primarily or entirely located in Asia. It is one of six continental confederations of world footballs governing body FIFA, UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Until 1959 the main headquarters were located in Paris, and later in Bern, in 1995, UEFA headquarters were transferred to Nyon, Switzerland. Henri Delaunay was the first general secretary and Ebbe Schwartz the first president, UEFA was founded on 15 June 1954 in Basel, Switzerland after consultation between the Italian, French, and Belgian associations. The European football union began with 25 members, that number doubled by the early 1990s, UEFA membership coincides for the most part with recognition as a sovereign country in Europe, although there are some exceptions. Some UEFA members are not sovereign states, but form part of a recognized sovereign state in the context of international law. Some UEFA members are transcontinental states, countries which had been members of the Asian Football Confederation were also admitted to the European football association, particularly Israel and Kazakhstan. Additionally some UEFA member associations allow teams from outside their associations main territory to take part in their domestic competition, saarland Football Union 1954–1956 German football association of the German Democratic Republic 1954–1990 Football Federation of the Soviet Union 1954–1991, in 1992 became Russian Football Union. The newly independent 14 Soviet Republics created their own football associations, Football Association of Yugoslavia 1954–1992, became Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia became independent, Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro 1992–2006, became Football Association of Serbia. Montenegro, which became independent, created its own football association, the main competition for mens national teams is the UEFA European Football Championship, started in 1958, with the first finals in 1960, and known as the European Nations Cup until 1964. It is also called UEFA or the EURO, UEFA also runs national competitions at Under-21, Under-19 and Under-17 levels. For womens national teams, UEFA operates the UEFA Womens Championship for senior sides as well as Womens Under-19. UEFA also organized the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup with CAF for youth teams in an effort to boost youth football, UEFA launched the UEFA Regions Cup, for semi-professional teams representing their local region, in 1999. In futsal there is the UEFA Futsal Championship and UEFA Futsal Under-21 Championship, the Italian, German, Spanish and French mens national teams are the sole teams to have won the European football championship in all categories. A second, lower-ranked competition is the UEFA Europa League and this competition, for national knockout cup winners and high-placed league teams, was launched by UEFA in 1971 as a successor of both the former UEFA Cup and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. A third competition, the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which had started in 1960, was absorbed into the UEFA Cup in 1999, in womens football UEFA also conducts the UEFA Womens Champions League for club teams. The competition was first held in 2001, and known as the UEFA Womens Cup until 2009, the UEFA Super Cup pits the winners of the Champions League against the winners of the Europa League, and came into being in 1973

4.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa

5.
Captain (association football)
–
The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband. The only official responsibility of a captain specified by the Laws of the Game is to participate in the toss prior to kick-off. Contrary to what is said, captains have no special authority under the Laws to challenge a decision by the referee. However, referees may talk to the captain of a side about the general behaviour when necessary. At an award-giving ceremony after a fixture like a cup competition final, any trophy won by a team will be received by the captain who will also be the first one to hoist it. The captain also generally leads the teams out of the room at the start of the match. The captain generally provides a point for the team, if morale is low. Captains may join the manager in deciding the first team for a certain game, in youth or recreational football, the captain often takes on duties, that would, at a higher level, be delegated to the manager. A club captain is usually appointed for a season, if he is unavailable or not selected for a particular game, then the club vice-captain will be appointed to perform a similar role. The match captain is the first player to lift a trophy should the team win one, a good example of this was in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final when match captain Peter Schmeichel lifted the trophy for Manchester United as club captain Roy Keane was suspended. In the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, match captain Frank Lampard jointly lifted the trophy for Chelsea with club captain John Terry, a club may appoint two distinct roles, a club captain to represent the players in a public relations role, and correspondent on the pitch. After Neville retired in 2011, regular starter Nemanja Vidić was named as club captain, são Paulos Rogério Ceni is the player who has worn the captains armband the most times. A vice-captain is a player that is expected to captain the side when the captain is not included in the starting eleven, or if, during a game. Examples include Manuel Neuer succeeding Philipp Lahm at Bayern Munich, Marcelo attaining from Sergio Ramos at Real Madrid C. F, gary Cahill being the understudy of John Terry at Chelsea FC and Lionel Messi taking over from Andrés Iniesta at FC Barcelona. Similarly, some clubs also name a 3rd captain to take the role of captain when both the captain and vice-captain are unavailable, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Germany had three captains. Michael Ballack had skippered the team since 2004, including the successful qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Lahm ended up becoming the permanent captain of Germany, as Ballack was never called up for the national team

6.
Cap (sport)
–
In British sport, a cap is a metaphorical term for a players appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in a match of association football. An early illustration of the first international match between Scotland and England in 1872 shows the Scottish players wearing cowls, and the English wearing a variety of school caps. These to be termed International Caps, the act of awarding a cap is now international and is applied to other sports. Thus, a cap is awarded for each game played and so a player who has played x games, the practice of awarding a physical cap varies from sport to sport. It may be awarded prior to a debut or, particularly for national teams. As an example, the England mens association football teams still awards physical caps, Players are awarded one cap for every match they play — unless they play in a World Cup or European Championship finals tournament. Then they are given a cap for the competition — with the names of all their opponents stitched into the fabric of the cap itself. In mens association football, the record belongs to former player Ahmed Hassan of Egypt, the first footballer to win 100 international caps was Billy Wright of Englands Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wright went on to appear 105 times for England,90 of them he obtained whilst he was a captain, however, it is a players choice to refuse to play for or retire from his or her national team. In cricket, there are two types of caps, firstly, there is the international type, as described above. Some countries also award a domestic type generally known as a county cap, the latter system is most commonly applied in English county cricket. Most counties do not automatically award caps to players on their first appearance, instead, indeed, one can play at the highest domestic level for several years, and have a quite significant career in first-class cricket, without ever winning a cap. The world record for the number of caps in Test cricket is held by Sachin Tendulkar of India, Tendulkar also holds the record for One Day Internationals, with 463 caps. In rugby union,35 players have reached 100 international caps as of 5 June 2012, Players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are eligible for selection to the British and Irish Lions touring squad. Lions matches are classed as full international tests, and caps are awarded, the Pacific Islanders team, composed of players from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Niue and Cook Islands have a similar arrangement, although no players involved have so far reached 100 caps. Players still active at Test level are in bold type, the record for most caps is held by former Australian Kangaroos player & captain Darren Lockyer with 59 games and second place is former New Zealand Kiwis player & captain Ruben Wiki with 55 games. Players still active at Test level are in bold type, mens Records and Facts FIFA Players with 100+ Caps RSSSF Picture of International Football Cap National Museum of Scotland Gallery of International Caps and Honours Caps

7.
Andy Selva
–
Andrea Andy Selva is a San Marino international footballer who plays as a forward and captains both San Marino and Sammarinese club SP La Fiorita. He is San Marinos all-time top scorer with eight goals and he began his career in 1994–95, playing in the Eccellenza with A. S. Latina, in which he scored five goals in 26 appearances, the following season he produced 10 goals in 31 appearances in Civita Castellana in Serie D, before moving to Fano, where he remained until March 1998, he played 32 games with only one goal. In 1999, Selva played with another Serie C2 club, Catanzaro, making 40 appearances, scoring six goals. Selva went back to the Eccellenza with Tivoli in 1999, which he scored 15 goals in 21 matches, while for the season, he moved to San Marino. He scored 22 goals in 30 games for Bellaria in the following season, in the summer of 2003, he transferred to SPAL where, in two seasons in Serie C1 he plays 51 games scoring 22 goals. In 2005–06, he moved to Padova, who sold him to Sassuolo after only scoring two goals in 20 games, in mid-2009, he left for Hellas Verona but was released after Verona were promoted to Serie B. In July 2011, he trained with Santarcangelo, Selva was born in Rome, Italy to an Italian father from Lazio and a Sammarinese mother, which made him eligible to represent Italy or San Marino and chose for the latter. He made his debut on 9 September 1997 against Turkey U-21. He is hailed as the greatest player in the current San Marino national side and he has appeared more than 60 times for the national team and scored eight goals, making him the leading goalscorer in the history of the team. Until 2012, he was the player to score more than one goal for San Marino

8.
San Marino Stadium
–
San Marino Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Serravalle, San Marino. First opened in 1969, it is used mostly for football matches. It is the stadium of San Marino, and is also used by the club San Marino Calcio. The Stadio Olimpico is a stadium and has a maximum capacity of 6,664. It has hosted teams such as England, Spain, Germany, the San Marino national teams three biggest defeats in the stadium are a record 13–0 to Germany in September 2006 and more recently 8–0 to England and by the same score against Ukraine, both in 2013. The national teams only win was also in this stadium, a friendly 1–0 beating of Liechtenstein in 2004 and this stadium seats are in two stands along the lengths of the pitch and the highest ever capacities are in those same matches against Germany and England. 5,019 people saw them lose to Germany, and 4,952 saw them lose to England, San Marinos first official international match was a 4–0 defeat to Switzerland, which was also played here. In 2014, the San Marino team gained their first ever European Championship qualification point here, the final of the San Marino domestic cup is also played here each year. Sport in San Marino Football in San Marino World Stadium Article

9.
Kit (association football)
–
In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread

10.
FIFA World Rankings
–
The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent longest ranked first. A points system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of all FIFA-recognised full international matches, the ranking system was most recently revamped after the 2006 World Cup, with the first edition of the new series of rankings issued on 12 July 2006. The most significant change is that the rankings are now based on results over the four years instead of the previous eight years. Alternative systems have been devised, such as the World Football Elo Ratings, based on the Elo rating system used in chess and Go, ranking teams. In December 1992, FIFA first published a listing in order of its member associations to provide a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of these teams. From the following August, this list was more frequently updated, significant changes were implemented in January 1999 and again in July 2006, as a reaction to criticisms of the system. Membership of FIFA has expanded from 167 to 209 since the rankings began, the ranking formula used from August 1993 until December 1998 was very simplistic and quickly became noticed for its lack of supporting factors. When the rankings were introduced, a team received one point for a draw or three for a victory in FIFA-recognised matches – much the same as a traditional league scoring system. This was a simplistic approach, however, and FIFA quickly realised that there were many factors affecting international matches. In order to meet the objective of fairly and accurately comparing the strengths of various national sides. In January 1999, FIFA introduced a system of ranking calculation. For the ranking all matches, their scores and importance were all recorded, only matches for the senior mens national team were included. Separate ranking systems were used for other national sides such as womens and junior teams. The womens rankings were, and still are, based on a procedure which is a version of the Football Elo Ratings. FIFA announced that the system would be updated following the 2006 World Cup. The evaluation period was cut from eight to four years, goals scored and home or away advantage are no longer taken into account, and other aspects of the calculations, including the importance attributed to different types of match, have been revised. The first set of revised rankings and the methodology were announced on 12 July 2006. This change is rooted at least in part in widespread criticism of the ranking system

11.
World Football Elo Ratings
–
The World Football Elo Ratings is a ranking system for mens national association football teams that is published by the website eloratings. net. It is based on the Elo rating system but includes modifications to take various football-specific variables into account, like the margin of victory, importance of a match, and home field advantage. Other implementations of the Elo rating system are possible and there is no single nor any official Elo ranking for football teams. The FIFA World Rankings, not based on the Elo method, is the national teams rating system used by the international governing body of football and is therefore more prevalent. The ratings consider all international A matches for which results could be found, Ratings tend to converge on a teams true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches. Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional, the FIFA Womens World Rankings system uses a modified version of the Elo formula whereas the FIFA mens ranking system uses a non-Elo formula. The following table shows the top 100 teams in the World Football Elo Ratings on 29 March 2017, each national teams FIFA World Rankings are shown as they were in the latest release on 6 April 2017. Time averaged Elo or Elo-like scores are used to compare chess player strengths. The following is a list of the teams with the highest average Elo score from 1 January 1970 to 1 January 2017. Before this time intercontinental play was limited and many nations in Africa, North America. The team in each confederation that has achieved the highest rank is shown in color, the following is a list of national football teams ranked by their highest Elo ranking ever reached. Note that for the highest ranking/rating of a football team the Elo ratings website ignores the ranking/rating before 30 matches have been played. The table below shows the teams with the best average Elo score per decade, a list of the 16 matches between teams with the highest combined Elo ratings. A list of the matches with the biggest point exchange, the nations points before the matches are given. In 1997 Bob Runyan adapted the Elo rating system to international football and he was also the first maintainer of the World Football Elo Ratings web site, now maintained by Kirill Bulygin. The Elo system was adapted for football by adding a weighting for the kind of match, an adjustment for the home advantage. Ratings tend to converge on a teams true strength relative to its competitors after about 30 matches, Ratings for teams with fewer than 30 matches should be considered provisional. There is no first step as in the FIFA system where a team receives points for the result

12.
Canada men's national soccer team
–
The Canada mens national soccer team represents Canada in international soccer competitions at the senior mens level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association and compete in the Confederation of North, Canada also won a gold medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics. The 1986 World Cup was their only successful campaign in their history. Soccer was being played in Canada with the Dominion Football Association, in 1885, the WFA sent a representative team to New Jersey to take on a side put forth by the American Football Association, the then-unofficial governing body of the sport in the United States. In an unofficial friendly, Canada defeated their hosts 1–0 in East Newark, the American team won 3–2 in a return match one year later. In 1888, a team represented the WFA in a tour of the British Isles, earning a record of nine wins, five draws, and nine losses. The squad comprised 16 Canadian-born players with the exception being tour organizer David Forsyth. In 1904 Galt Football Club represented the WFA at the Olympic Games in St Louis, as just one of three teams competing, Galt defeated two American clubs, Christian Brothers College and St. Rose to win the tournament. After a short talk by Mr. James E. Conlon of the Physical Culture Department, Mayor Mundy, of the City of Galt, the medals are clearly engraved with the name of the company in St. Louis that made them. In 1905, a British team of touring amateurs nicknamed the Pilgrims toured Canada, the match was played in front of 3500 fans in Galt, now part of Cambridge, Ontario, and ended in a 3–3 draw. Earlier the Pilgrims had been beaten 2–1 by Berlin Rangers, in the city now known as Kitchener, Canada also played Australia at the Jubilee Oval, Adelaide on Saturday July 12,1924, and defeated them by 4 goals to 1. In 1925, Canada played their old rivals, the United States, in Montreal, in a return match in November 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, Canada was defeated 1–6. One year later, Canada lost 2–6 to the Americans in the city before playing four internationals in a 1927 tour of New Zealand. Following the lead of British football associations, Canada withdrew from FIFA in 1928 over a dispute regarding broken time payments to amateur players. Under the guidance of head coach Don Petrie, Canada defeated the USA in Toronto 5–1 in their opening game, Mexico advanced as group winners, meaning that Canada missed out on the World Cup in 1958 in Sweden. Canada withdrew from World Cup qualifying for 1962 and did not enter a team for 1966 and they did compete in soccer however at the 1967 Pan American Games, their first time to do so in the sixth edition of the games, which they hosted in Winnipeg. Canada finished a fourth place, helped somewhat by defending champion Brazils absence. A 0–0 draw away to Bermuda meant the Canadians, under manager Peter Dinsdale, Dinsdale was replaced by Frank Pike

13.
Canada
–
Canada is a country in the northern half of North America. Canadas border with the United States is the worlds longest binational land border, the majority of the country has a cold or severely cold winter climate, but southerly areas are warm in summer. Canada is sparsely populated, the majority of its territory being dominated by forest and tundra. It is highly urbanized with 82 per cent of the 35.15 million people concentrated in large and medium-sized cities, One third of the population lives in the three largest cities, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Its capital is Ottawa, and other urban areas include Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg. Various aboriginal peoples had inhabited what is now Canada for thousands of years prior to European colonization. Pursuant to the British North America Act, on July 1,1867, the colonies of Canada, New Brunswick and this began an accretion of provinces and territories to the mostly self-governing Dominion to the present ten provinces and three territories forming modern Canada. With the Constitution Act 1982, Canada took over authority, removing the last remaining ties of legal dependence on the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II being the head of state. The country is officially bilingual at the federal level and it is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many other countries. Its advanced economy is the eleventh largest in the world, relying chiefly upon its abundant natural resources, Canadas long and complex relationship with the United States has had a significant impact on its economy and culture. Canada is a country and has the tenth highest nominal per capita income globally as well as the ninth highest ranking in the Human Development Index. It ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, Canada is an influential nation in the world, primarily due to its inclusive values, years of prosperity and stability, stable economy, and efficient military. While a variety of theories have been postulated for the origins of Canada. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec City region used the word to direct French explorer Jacques Cartier to the village of Stadacona, from the 16th to the early 18th century Canada referred to the part of New France that lay along the St. Lawrence River. In 1791, the area became two British colonies called Upper Canada and Lower Canada collectively named The Canadas, until their union as the British Province of Canada in 1841. Upon Confederation in 1867, Canada was adopted as the name for the new country at the London Conference. The transition away from the use of Dominion was formally reflected in 1982 with the passage of the Canada Act, later that year, the name of national holiday was changed from Dominion Day to Canada Day

14.
Serravalle (San Marino)
–
Serravalle is a castello located in the European republic of San Marino. With a population of 10,591 inhabitants and a surface of 10.53 km², it is not only the most densely populated municipality in San Marino, serravalle is located on the edge of the Apennines Mountains. The town borders on Sammarinese municipalities of Domagnano and Borgo Maggiore, serravalle counts a surrounding quarter named Galazzano, where the weather station and an industrial area are located. First mentioned in a 962 document, in medieval times this town was called Castrum Olnani, serravalle attached to San Marino in 1463, during the last territorial expansion of the Republic

15.
San Marino
–
Its size is just over 61 km2, with a population of 33,562. Its capital is the City of San Marino and its largest city is Dogana, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe. The country takes its name from Marinus, a stonemason originating from the Roman colony on the island of Rab, in 257 CE Marinus participated in the reconstruction of Riminis city walls after their destruction by Liburnian pirates. San Marino is governed by the Constitution of San Marino, a series of six books written in Latin in the late 16th century, the country is considered to have the earliest written governing documents still in effect. The countrys economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and it is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP, with a figure comparable to the most developed European regions. San Marino is considered to have a stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt. It is the country with more vehicles than people. Saint Marinus left the island of Arba in present-day Croatia with his lifelong friend Leo, and went to the city of Rimini as a stonemason. After the Diocletianic Persecution following his Christian sermons, he escaped to the nearby Monte Titano, the official date of the founding of what is now known as the Republic is 3 September 301. In 1631, its independence was recognized by the Papacy, the offer was declined by the Regents, fearing future retaliation from other states revanchism. During the later phase of the Italian unification process in the 19th century, in recognition of this support, Giuseppe Garibaldi accepted the wish of San Marino not to be incorporated into the new Italian state. The government of San Marino made United States President Abraham Lincoln an honorary citizen and he wrote in reply, saying that the republic proved that government founded on republican principles is capable of being so administered as to be secure and enduring. Italy tried to establish a detachment of Carabinieri in the republic. Two groups of ten volunteers joined Italian forces in the fighting on the Italian front, the first as combatants, the existence of this hospital later caused Austria-Hungary to suspend diplomatic relations with San Marino. From 1923 to 1943, San Marino was under the rule of the Sammarinese Fascist Party. During World War II, San Marino remained neutral, although it was reported in an article from The New York Times that it had declared war on the United Kingdom on 17 September 1940. The Sammarinese government later transmitted a message to the British government stating that they had not declared war on the United Kingdom, Three days after the fall of Benito Mussolini in Italy, PFS rule collapsed and the new government declared neutrality in the conflict. The Fascists regained power on 1 April 1944 but kept neutrality intact, despite that, on 26 June 1944 San Marino was bombed by the Royal Air Force, in the belief that San Marino had been overrun by German forces and was being used to amass stores and ammunition

16.
Switzerland national football team
–
The Switzerland national football team is the national football team of Switzerland. The team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association, the teams logo, ASF-SFV, represents the Swiss Football Associations initials in Switzerlands official languages, ASF represents both French and Italian, and SFV is German. In Romansh, the association is abbreviated as ASB and its best performances in the World Cup have been reaching the quarter-finals three times, in 1934,1938 and when the country hosted the event in 1954. Switzerland also won silver at the 1924 Olympics, the youth teams have been more successful, winning the 2002 U-17 European Championship and the 2009 U-17 World Cup. Switzerland co-hosted Euro 2008 with Austria, making their appearance in the competition. As with the two appearances, they did not clear the group stages. Switzerland earned the medal at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. It was beaten 3–0 by Uruguay in the final, the team participated in its first FIFA World Cup in 1934, where it reached the quarter-final before losing to Czechoslovakia. Switzerland again reached the stage in 1938, losing to Hungary. Switzerland hosted the tournament in 1954 and reached the quarter-final for a third time, the Swiss also qualified for the World Cup in 1950,1962 and 1966, losing in the first round on each occasion. After the appointment of English manager Roy Hodgson in 1992, Switzerland rose to its highest ever position in the FIFA World Rankings, at the tournament finals, the team qualified for the second round by beating Romania and drawing with host nation the United States. Switzerland lost 3–0 to Spain in the second round, the team then qualified for its first ever UEFA European Championship. For the finals of UEFA Euro 1996, Hodgson was replaced by the Portuguese Artur Jorge, the team finished bottom of Group A after a draw with England and defeats to the Netherlands and Scotland. Switzerland qualified for the Euro 2004 in Portugal by finishing first in Group 10 of the qualifying, ahead of Russia, after a 0–0 draw against Croatia, they lost 0–3 against England and 1–3 against France to finish last in Group B. Johann Vonlanthen became the youngest scorer ever in the Euro championships when he equalised against France, the 2006 World Cup in Germany was the first World Cup for Switzerland since 1994. After finishing second behind France in qualifying Group 4, they defeated Turkey on the away goals rule in the play-off round 2–0, in the group stage, they played again against France in Stuttgart, a 0–0 draw. After defeating Togo 2–0 in Dortmund and South Korea also 2–0 in Hannover, there, they faced Ukraine in Cologne, with the match having to be decided via a penalty shootout after 120 scoreless minutes were played, Ukraine won 3–0. Switzerland was the team in tournament not to have conceded a goal during regulation time in their matches

17.
Liechtenstein national football team
–
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of the Principality of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German, the teams first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a 1–1 draw in 1981. Their first official match came two years later, a 0–1 defeat from Switzerland. Liechtensteins largest win, a 4–0 win over Luxembourg in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 13 October 2004, was both its first away win ever and its first win in any World Cup qualifier. Liechtenstein are only a relatively recent affiliate to FIFA, and did not participate in any qualifying series until the UEFA Euro 1996 qualifiers, there they managed to surprise the Republic of Ireland by holding them to a 0–0 draw on 3 June 1995. On 14 October 1998, they managed their first victory in a campaign by winning 2–1 against Azerbaijan in a UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying match. Since then, the presence of Liechtenstein clubs in the Swiss league system, the Euro 2004 qualifiers saw Liechtenstein improve to the extent they restricted England to 2–0 wins. The 2006 World Cup qualifiers, however, brought even better results as two wins over Luxembourg and draws against both Slovakia and Portugal meant that Liechtenstein finished with eight points. From their qualifying campaigns, the one that received the most points was their 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign. The following players were called up in the last 12 months, as recorded in the subsequent book Stamping Grounds, Liechtensteins Quest for the World Cup, Liechtenstein lost all eight games without scoring a goal. RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers Liechtensteiner Fussballverbund Die Elf, documentary film about Liechtenstein national team

18.
Germany national football team
–
The Germany national football team is the mens football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900, ever since the DFB was reinaugurated in 1949 the team has represented the Federal Republic of Germany. Both have been absorbed along with their records by the current national team, the official name and code Germany FR was shortened to Germany following the reunification in 1990. Germany is one of the most successful teams in international competitions, having won a total of four World Cups. They have also been three times in the European Championships, four times in the World Cup, and a further four third-place finishes at World Cups. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976, Germany is the only nation to have won both the mens and womens World Cups. At the end of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Germany earned the highest Elo rating of any football team in history. Germany is also the only European nation that has won a FIFA World Cup in the Americas, the current manager of the national team is Joachim Löw. Germanys first championship title was won in Switzerland. At that time the players were selected by the DFB, as there was no dedicated coach, the first manager of the Germany national team was Otto Nerz, a school teacher from Mannheim, who served in the role from 1926 to 1936. After a poor showing at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, in 1937 he put together a squad which was soon nicknamed the Breslau Elf in recognition of their 8–0 win over Denmark in the then German city of Breslau, Lower Silesia. In the 1938 World Cup that began on 4 June, this united German team managed only a 1–1 draw against Switzerland and that early exit stands as Germanys worst World Cup result. During World War II, the team played over 30 international games between September 1939 and November 1942, when national team games were suspended, as most players had to join the armed forces. After the Second World War, Germany was banned from competition in most sports until 1950, the DFB was not a full member of FIFA, and none of the three new German states — West Germany, East Germany, and Saarland — entered the 1950 World Cup qualifiers. The Federal Republic of Germany, which was referred to as West Germany, with recognition by FIFA and UEFA, the DFB maintained and continued the record of the pre-war team. Switzerland was once again the first team that played West Germany in 1950, West Germany qualified for the 1954 World Cup. The Saarland, under French control between 1947 and 1956, did not join French organisations, and was barred from participating in pan-German ones and it sent their own team to the 1952 Summer Olympics and to the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. In 1957, Saarland acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, in 1949, the communist German Democratic Republic was founded

19.
Italian language
–
By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages

20.
UEFA European Championship
–
Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form UEFA Euro, prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations compete in a qualifying process. The championship winners earn the opportunity to compete in the following FIFA Confederations Cup, to date, Spain is the only team in history to have won consecutive titles, doing so in 2008 and 2012. It is the second most watched football tournament in the world after the FIFA World Cup, the Euro 2012 final was watched by a global audience of around 300 million. The most recent championship, hosted by France in 2016, was won by Portugal, in honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him. The 1960 tournament, held in France, had four competing in the finals out of 17 that entered the competition. It was won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a final in Paris. Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the USSR because of two political protests, of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, the Netherlands, West Germany and Italy. The hosts beat the holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid. The tournament format stayed the same for the 1968 tournament, hosted, for the first and only time a match was decided on a coin toss and the final went to a replay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1–1. More teams entered this tournament, a testament to its burgeoning popularity, Belgium hosted the 1972 tournament, which West Germany won, beating the USSR 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. This tournament would provide a taste of things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup Champions. The 1976 tournament in Yugoslavia was the last in which four teams took part in the final tournament. Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the newly introduced penalty shootout, after seven successful conversions, Uli Hoeneß missed, leaving Czechoslovakian Antonín Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament. An audacious chipped shot, described by UEFA as perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties, the competition was expanded to eight teams in the 1980 tournament, again hosted by Italy. It involved a stage, with the winners of the groups going on to contest the final. West Germany won their second European title by beating Belgium 2–1, Horst Hrubesch scored early in the first half before René Vandereycken equalised for Belgium with a penalty in the second half. With two minutes remaining, Hrubesch headed the winner for West Germany from a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge corner, the format also changed, with the top two teams in each group going through to a semi-final stage, instead of the winners of each group going straight into the final

21.
Summer Olympic Games
–
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host citys preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third, the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors from 204 nations in 2012, eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics, more than any other nation, four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics, Athens, Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times in Japan, South Korea, and China. The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia, the 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics, only five countries—Greece, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland—have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games. The only country to have won at least one medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain. The United States leads the medal table. Qualification rules for each of the Olympic sports are set by the International Sports Federations that governs that sports international competition, for individual sports, competitors typically qualify through attaining a certain place in a major international event or on the IFs ranking list. There is a rule that maximum three individual athletes may represent each nation per competition. Nations most often qualify teams for team sports through continental qualifying tournaments, each nation may be represented by no more than one team per competition a team is two people in some sports. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Japan have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times and will host again in 2020. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Summer Olympics in South America, three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Paris, and Athens. Stockholm has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting

22.
FIFA World Cup
–
The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America

23.
Exhibition game
–
An exhibition game is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the players or the teams rankings is either zero or otherwise greatly reduced. In team sports, matches of this type are used to help coaches and managers select. If the players play in different teams in other leagues. The games can be held between separate teams or between parts of the same team, international competitions like the Olympic Games may also hold exhibition games as part of a demonstration sport. In the early days of football, known simply as football or soccer. However, since the development of The Football League in England in 1888, league tournaments became established, in addition to lengthy derby, since the introduction of league football, most club sides play a number of friendlies before the start of each season. Friendly football matches are considered to be non-competitive and are used to warm up players for a new season/competitive match. There is generally nothing competitive at stake and some rules may be changed or experimented with, although these events may involve sponsorship deals and the awarding of a trophy and may even be broadcast on television, there is little prestige attached to them. Frequently such games take place between a club and small clubs that play nearby, such as those between Newcastle United and Gateshead. International teams also play friendlies, generally in preparation for the qualifying or final stages of major tournaments and this is essential, since national squads generally have much less time together in which to prepare. The biggest difference between friendlies at the club and international levels is that international friendlies mostly take place during club league seasons and this has on occasion led to disagreement between national associations and clubs as to the availability of players, who could become injured or fatigued in a friendly. Players can be booked in international friendlies, and can be suspended from international matches based on red cards or accumulated yellows in a specified period. Caps and goals scored also count towards a players career records, in the UK and Ireland, exhibition match and friendly match refer to two different types of matches. A bounce game is generally a non-competitive football match played between two sides usually as part of an exercise or to give players match practice. Managers may also use bounce games as an opportunity to observe a player in action before offering a contract, usually these games are played on a training ground rather than in a stadium with no spectators in attendance. Exhibition fights were common in boxing. Jack Dempsey fought many exhibition bouts after retiring, joe Louis fought a charity fight on his rematch with Buddy Baer, but this was not considered an exhibition as it was for Louis world Heavyweight title. Muhammad Ali fought many exhibitions, including one with Lyle Alzado, in more modern times, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. and Jorge Castro have been involved in exhibition fights

24.
Bhutan national football team
–
The Bhutan national football team represents Bhutan in international mens football. The team play their games at the national stadium, Changlimithang. The side have consistently ranked as the worst, or one of the worst national teams in the world on both the official FIFA rankings and the Elo rating system. As of the end of March 2017 they have won six competitive fixtures against other international teams and have a goal difference of −263 in official matches. They are one of the national teams in the world having played their first official match in 1982 in the ANFA Cup. Prior to this, a representative team consisting mainly of imported players from India competed in a number of regional tournaments. Through the 1990s they made one international appearance, again at the South Asian Games in 1999. Their first continental appearance occurred the year when they travelled to Kuwait to take part in qualifying for the 2000 AFC Asian Cup. They were unable to build on this though and a further five straight defeats followed before their next win. This result coupled with a 0–0 draw with Mongolia was to be their most successful set of official results until their back to back victories over Sri Lanka in 2015. This would prove to be a point for Bhutanese football as they embarked on a run of nineteen straight defeats over the following five years. A week later, they earned another victory against Sri Lanka 2–1 in Thimphu, securing the qualification to the second round with an aggregate score of 3–1. In the same way there is uncertainty around the manner in which football as a sport in general came to be. Whereas Indians were introduced to football by the British government, the lack of a permanent British presence in Bhutan meant that sports were not played there. The arrival of football in Bhutan was very closely linked with the opening of schools in Haa and Paro in the 1950s, as teachers, mainly from India. In 1968, a team nominally representing Bhutan, but essentially consisting of players travelled to Calcutta to compete in the Indian Independence Cup. Over time football gradually increased in popularity until it was seen as an part of the school curriculum. Teams used to travel all over the country to take part

25.
Estonia national football team
–
The Estonia national football team in international football and is controlled by the Estonian Football Association, the governing body for football in Estonia. Estonia play their matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia, Estonias first match was held against Finland in 1920, being a 6–0 defeat. The team participated in the 1924 Olympic Games tournament, their only participation, Estonia have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship. In 1940, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union and did not regain independence until 1991. Estonias first FIFA recognised match as an independent nation after the break-up of the Soviet Union, was against Slovenia on 3 June 1992, a 1–1 draw in the Estonian capital city of Tallinn. The record for the most international caps by an international is held by Martin Reim with 157, in September 2016, Reim was appointed team manager. The record for most goals is held by Andres Oper with 38, Estonians were introduced to the game of football by English sailors in the first years of the 20th century, when the land was still part of the Russian Empire. The national team was formed after the war of independence and it played its first match on 17 October 1920 in Helsinki, Finland which ended in a 6–0 defeat. The game took place on a surface, which was a first for the Estonians. The Estonian Football Association was founded on 14 December 1921 and affiliated with FIFA in 1923 joining Yugoslavia, Latvia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Estonias only participation in a major tournament took place in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris. Estonians lost their match in the tournament to the United States 1–0. The Estonian league season usually lasted from the end of May to September, in 1928 the first Baltic football contest was held involving all three nations, it was held nine times during this period. Four of them were held in Latvia, two in Estonia and three in Lithuania, Estonia was particularly notable for winning the edition of the tournament in 1938. In the crucial meeting between them and Latvia at the Kadrioru Stadium,2,000 out of the 12,000 spectators were Latvians, Estonias first FIFA World cup qualifying match took place on 11 June 1933 in Stockholm, Sweden. Match ended with Swedish 6–2 win and this match was also worlds first FIFA world cup qualifying match. Since later on Sweden also defeated Lithuania, match between Estonia and Lithuania was cancelled, because Sweden had already won the group. Estonias first points in the FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds were gained in 1938, playing the matches in 1937

26.
Lithuania national football team
–
The Lithuania national football team is under the auspices of the Lithuanian Football Federation. It played its first match in 1923, in 1940, Lithuania was occupied by the Soviet Union, the country regained its independence in 1990 and played their first match as a new nation against Georgia on 27 May of that year. Since 2012 the team plays its matches in LFF Stadium. In the 1990s, Lithuania established a presence in World Cup and European Championship qualifiers. Although finishing fifth in their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifying group, Lithuania drew with world champions Italy 1–1 in Naples in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying game on 2 September 2006, in the first competitive game that Italy played since the World Cup final. On 6 September 2008, Lithuania defeated Romania 3–0 in a World Cup 2010 qualifier, the victory was regarded by many as a historic win. It was followed by another successful 2–0 performance against Austria in Marijampolė, the following players have been called up for the friendly match against Czech Republic on 22 March 2017 and 2018 World Cup qualifier against England on 26 March 2017. Caps and goals correct as of,26 March 2017 after the game against England, the following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months. RET Retired from the national team, as of March 26,2017, the ten highest scorers for Lithuania are, Bold denotes players still playing international football. As of March 26,2017, the ten players with the most caps for Lithuania are, Lithuanian Football Association Official Site All Lithuanian Team Games 1923–1930 Reports for all matches of Lithuania national team Lithuanian football videos Lithuanian Football TV

27.
FIFA
–
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association is the international governing body of association football, futsal, and beach soccer. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930. FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden. Headquartered in Zürich, its membership now comprises 211 national associations, although FIFA does not control the rules of football, it is responsible for both the organization of a number of tournaments and their promotion, which generate revenue from sponsorship. In 2013, FIFA had revenues of over 1.3 billion U. S. dollars, for a net profit of 72 million and those among these officials who were also indicted in the U. S. are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well. Many officials were suspended by FIFAs ethics committee including Sepp Blatter, in early 2017 reports became public about FIFA president Gianni Infantino attempting to prevent the re-elections of both chairmen of the ethics committee during the FIFA congress in May 2017. The need for a body to oversee association football became apparent at the beginning of the 20th century with the increasing popularity of international fixtures. The French name and acronym are used even outside French-speaking countries, the founding members were the national associations of Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Also, that day, the German Association declared its intention of affiliating through a telegram. The first president of FIFA was Robert Guérin, Guérin was replaced in 1906 by Daniel Burley Woolfall from England, by then a member of the association. Membership of FIFA expanded beyond Europe with the application of South Africa in 1909, Argentina in 1912, Canada and Chile in 1913, and the United States in 1914. During World War I, with players sent off to war and the possibility of travel for international fixtures severely limited. Post-war, following the death of Woolfall, the organisation was run by Dutchman Carl Hirschmann and it was saved from extinction, but at the cost of the withdrawal of the Home Nations, who cited an unwillingness to participate in international competitions with their recent World War enemies. The Home Nations later resumed their membership, the FIFA collection is held by the National Football Museum at Urbis in Manchester, England. The first World Cup in the world was in 1930 in Montevideo, FIFA is headquartered in Zürich, and is an association established under the Law of Switzerland. FIFAs supreme body is the FIFA Congress, a made up of representatives from each affiliated member association. Each national football association has one vote, regardless of its size or footballing strength, the Congress assembles in ordinary session once every year, and extraordinary sessions have been held once a year since 1998. The congress makes decisions relating to FIFAs governing statutes and their method of implementation and application, only the Congress can pass changes to FIFAs statutes

28.
UEFA Euro 1992
–
The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth European Football Championship, which is every four years. The team had qualified only after Yugoslavia was disqualified as a result of the breakup, eight national teams contested the finals tournament. Also present at the tournament was the CIS national football team and it was also the first major tournament at which the reunified Germany had competed. It was to be the last tournament with eight participants. On 17 December 1988, Sweden was chosen over Spain to host the event, Spain was at a disadvantage as they had already been chosen to host the EXPO1992 and the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. Seven of the eight teams had to qualify for the final stage, the CIS team represented the following ex-Soviet republics, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Tajikistan. Originally, Yugoslavia qualified for the stage, but due to the Yugoslav wars. They shocked the continent when Peter Schmeichel saved Marco van Bastens penalty in the semi-final penalty shoot-out against the Netherlands, the shock was compounded when Denmark went on to defeat the reigning world champions Germany 2–0 to win the European title. Etrvsco Unico, a different version of the Adidas Etrusco Unico, was used as the match ball of the tournament. Fourth officials The teams finishing in the top two positions in each of the two progress to the semi-finals, while the bottom two teams in each group were eliminated from the tournament. As with every tournament since UEFA Euro 1984, there was no third-place match, UEFA Team of the Tournament Golden Boot Dennis Bergkamp Tomas Brolin Henrik Larsen Karl-Heinz Riedle Small is Beautiful was the official slogan of the contest. The official anthem of the tournament was More Than a Game, performed by Towe Jaarnek and it was the last tournament to use the UEFA plus flag logo, and the last before the tournament came to be known as Euro. It was also the first major competition in which the players had their names printed on their backs. The official mascot of the competition was a rabbit named Rabbit, dressed in a Swedish football jersey, UEFA Euro 1992 overview at Union of European Football Associations Goal. com, Euro 2012 History, The 1992 Finals BBC. co. uk, Denmarks greatest moment, article

29.
Penalty kick (association football)
–
A penalty kick is a method of restarting play in association football, taken from 11 metres out from the goal, on the penalty mark. Penalty kicks are performed during normal play and they are awarded when a foul that is punishable by a direct free kick is committed within the offending players own penalty area. Similar kicks are made in a penalty shootout in some tournaments to determine which team is victorious after a drawn match, in practice, penalties are converted to goals more often than not, even against world class goalkeepers. This means that penalty awards are often decisive, especially in low-scoring games, the referee gives the ball to the non-offending team. The goalkeeper must stand on the line between the post until the ball is kicked. Lateral movement is allowed, but the keeper is not permitted to come off the goal line by stepping or lunging forward until the ball is in play. When the goalkeeper indicates to the referee that they are ready, once the shooter has started their approach to the ball, they are not permitted to interrupt it. The ball must be stationary before the kick, and must be struck forwards, violation of these rules will result in a re-kick. After the penalty is taken properly, the ball may be played by any player except the one who executed the penalty kick. The kicker may not play the ball again until it has touched or played by another player on either team. For penalties taken near the end of time, play may be extended so that the penalty kick may be taken. A two-man penalty, or tap penalty, occurs when the penalty-taker, instead of shooting for goal, taps the ball slightly forward so that a team-mate can run on to it and shoot. The team-mate, like all other players, must be at least ten yards from the penalty mark when the ball is initially kicked and this strategy depends on the element of surprise, so that the team-mate can reach the ball ahead of any defenders. There is no requirement for the penalty taker to shoot for goal, the first recorded tap penalty was taken by Jimmy McIlroy and Danny Blanchflower of Northern Ireland against Portugal on 1 May 1957. Another was taken by Rik Coppens and André Piters in the World Cup Qualifying match Belgium v Iceland on 5 June 1957, arsenal players Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès failed in an attempt at a similar penalty in 2005, during a Premier League match against Manchester City at Highbury. Lionel Messi tapped a penalty for Luis Suárez as Suárez completed his hat-trick on 14 February 2016 against league opponents Celta De Vigo, in the case of a player repeatedly infringing the laws during the penalty kick, the referee may caution the player for persistent infringement. Note that all offences that occur before kick may be dealt with in this manner, as with a direct free kick, the kicker may not touch the ball a second time, until another player has touched the ball. Another example of an infringement is when a player will run up, stop directly at the ball and this gives the goalkeeper no chance at saving it, and the result of this would be a free kick for the opposing team

30.
Romania national football team
–
The Romania national football team is the national football team of Romania and is controlled by the Romanian Football Federation. Romania is one of four national teams from Europe, the other three being Yugoslavia, France, and Belgium, that took part in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. Since that performance, Romania have qualified for the 1934,1938,1970,1990,1994 and 1998 editions and they also reached the last eight in 1960 and 1972, and qualified for the 1984,1996,2008 and 2016 tournaments. The Romanian Football Federation was established in October 1909 in Bucharest, Romania played their first international match on 8 June 1922, a 2–1 win over Yugoslavia in Belgrade, being coached by Teofil Moraru. Several temporary coaches were employed, before Moraru resumed control in August 1924, Romania enjoyed some success during the 1930s, manager Costel Rădulescu took them to the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments, a feat matched only by Brazil, Belgium and France. Romania qualified for the next World Cup in 1934 after beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a repeat of their first international. At the finals, Romania played only one game in a new format, losing 2–1 to Czechoslovakia in Trieste, Italy. Romania qualified by default for the 1938 World Cup after their playoff opponents Egypt withdrew. They suffered a defeat in the finals in France, losing to minnows Cuba, who, like Romania, had only qualified due to the withdrawal of their qualifying opponents. The first match at the Stade Chapou in Toulouse ended 3–3 after extra time, angelo Niculescus promising side were given the toughest of draws, in Group 3 with holders England, giants Brazil and Czechoslovakia. A Geoff Hurst goal gave England a narrow victory in Romanias first match at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara, chances were improved with a 2–1 win over the Czechs. Despite going behind early to a Ladislav Petráš goal, Romania turned it around after half-time with Alexandru Neagu, even then, only a win over the excellent Brazilians would take them into the quarter-finals. But Brazil played some of the best football of the competition, with Pelé scoring twice, Romania battled bravely, Dumitrache pulled the score back to 2–1 before the break and a late Emerich Dembrowski goal made it 3–2, but they were out. On 26 September 1973, under new coach Valentin Stanescu, Romania suffered a significant defeat to East Germany in Leipzig, the East Germans won 2–0 to effectively seal their first ever qualification for the World Cup, which would be held over the border in West Germany. With East Germany scoring a predictable 4–1 win in Albania, Romania were out, Romania continued to suffer poor form in the UEFA European Championship. In their qualifying group for the 1976 European Football Championship, they were out-qualified by Spain despite an impressive 1–1 draw in the away match, Romania failed to win matches, drawing twice with Scotland and Spain and dropping points in Denmark with a dismal goalless draw. Romania were again beat by Spain for a place in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, despite a 1–0 win in Bucharest, Romania lost a bizarre match at home to Yugoslavia 6–4 having led 3–2 at half time. Spain won 1–0 in Belgrade to seal passage to South America, Romanias sole successful qualifying campaign was for the European Championships in 1984 in France

31.
England national football team
–
The England national football team represents England in international football and is controlled by The Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England are one of the two oldest national teams in football, alongside Scotland, whom played in the worlds first international football match in 1872. Englands home ground is Wembley Stadium, London, and the current manager is Gareth Southgate, England contest the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, which alternate biennially. In contesting for the World Cup seventeen times over the past sixty four years, England won the 1966 World Cup, when they hosted the finals, the England national football team is the joint-oldest in the world, it was formed at the same time as Scotland. A representative match between England and Scotland was played on 5 March 1870, having been organised by the Football Association, a return fixture was organised by representatives of Scottish football teams on 30 November 1872. Over the next forty years, England played exclusively with the other three Home Nations—Scotland, Wales and Ireland—in the British Home Championship, to begin with, England had no permanent home stadium. They joined FIFA in 1906 and played their first ever games against countries other than the Home Nations on a tour of Central Europe in 1908, Wembley Stadium was opened in 1923 and became their home ground. The relationship between England and FIFA became strained, and this resulted in their departure from FIFA in 1928 and their first ever defeat on home soil to a foreign team was a 0–2 loss to the Republic of Ireland, on 21 September 1949 at Goodison Park. A 6–3 loss in 1953 to Hungary, was their defeat by a foreign team at Wembley. In the return match in Budapest, Hungary won 7–1 and this still stands as Englands worst ever defeat. After the game, a bewildered Syd Owen said, it was like playing men from outer space, in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time, and lost 4–2 to reigning champions Uruguay. Although Walter Winterbottom was appointed as Englands first ever manager in 1946. In UEFA Euro 1968, the reached the semi-finals for the first time. England qualified for the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico as reigning champions, and reached the quarter-finals, England had been 2–0 up, but were eventually beaten 3–2 after extra time. They failed in qualification for the 1974, leading to Ramseys dismissal, under Ron Greenwood, they managed to qualify for the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, despite not losing a game, they were eliminated in the second group stage. Despite losing to Italy in the third place play-off, the members of the England team were given bronze medals identical to the Italians’, the England team of 1990 were welcomed home as heroes and thousands of people lined the streets, for a spectacular open-top bus parade. However, the team did not win any matches in UEFA Euro 1992, drawing with tournament winners Denmark, the 1990s saw four England managers, each in the role for a relatively brief period. Graham Taylor was Robsons successor, but resigned after England failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, at UEFA Euro 1996, held in England, Terry Venables led England, equalling their best performance at a European Championship, reaching the semi-finals as they did in 1968

32.
Netherlands national football team
–
The Netherlands national football team represents the Netherlands in international football. It is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Football Association, the body for football in the Netherlands. The team is referred to as Het Nederlands Elftal and Oranje. Like the country itself, the team is sometimes referred to as Holland. The Dutch hold the record for playing the most World Cup finals without winning the tournament. They finished second in the 1974,1978 and 2010 World Cups, losing to West Germany, Argentina and Spain respectively, the Netherlands played their first international match in Antwerp against Belgium on 30 April 1905. The players were selected by a commission from the Dutch football association. After 90 minutes, the score was 1–1, but because the match was for a trophy, the Netherlands made their first appearance at the World Cup final tournament in 1934. After a second appearance in 1938 they did not appear in another World Cup until 1974, the 1970s saw the invention of Total Football, pioneered by Ajax and led by playmaker Johan Cruyff and national team coach Rinus Michels. The Dutch made significant strides, qualifying for two World Cup finals in the decade. The captain of the Brazilian team that won the 1970 FIFA World Cup, Carlos Alberto, went on to say, since then everything looks more or less the same to me. Their carousel style of play was amazing to watch and marvellous for the game, in 1974, the Netherlands beat both Brazil and Argentina in the second group stage, reaching the final for the first time in their history. However, the team lost to West Germany in the final in Munich, however, a converted penalty by Paul Breitner and the winner from Gerd Müller led to a victory for the Germans. By comparison, Euro 76 was a disappointment, the Netherlands lost in the semi-finals to Czechoslovakia, as much because of infighting within the squad and the coach George Knobel, as well as the skill of the eventual winners. In 1978, the Netherlands again reached the final of a World Cup, only to be beaten by the hosts and this side played without Johan Cruijff, Willem van Hanegem, and Jan van Beveren, who refused to participate in the World Cup. It still contained Johan Neeskens, Johnny Rep, Arie Haan, Ruud Krol, Wim Jansen, Jan Jongbloed, Wim Suurbier, the Netherlands were less impressive in the group stages. They qualified as runners-up, after a draw with Peru and a loss to Scotland, in the second group phase, however, the Netherlands topped a group including Italy and West Germany, setting up a final with Argentina. However, the Dutch finished as runners up for the second World Cup in a row as they ultimately lost 3–1 after two extra time goals from Argentina, Rensenbrink hit the Argentinian post in the last minute of normal time, with the score 1–1

33.
Norway national football team
–
The Norway mens national football team represents Norway in international association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norways home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their coach is Lars Lagerbäck. It is, as of March 2017, ranked by FIFA as the 81st best national team in the world, Norway has participated three times in the FIFA World Cup, and once in the UEFA European Championship. Norway is also notable as the national team that has never lost any of the matches it has played against Brazil. In four matches played, Norway has a 2–0–2 record against Brazil, Norways performances in international football have usually been weaker than those of their Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Denmark, but they did have a golden age in the late 1930s. An Olympic team achieved third place in the 1936 Olympics, after beating the hosts Germany earlier in the tournament, Norway also qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2–1 after extra time against eventual champions Italy. This turned out to be Norways last World Cup finals appearance in 56 years, in the post-war years, up to and including the 1980s, Norway was usually considered as one of the weaker nations in Europe. They never qualified for a World Cup or European Championship in this period, Norway had their most successful period from 1990 to 1998 under the legendary coach Egil Drillo Olsen. At its height in the mid-90s the team was ranked second on the FIFA World Rankings. In the 1994 World Cup in the United States, Norway was knocked out at the stage after a win against Mexico, a defeat against Italy. Former under-21 coach Nils Johan Semb replaced Olsen after the retirement of the latter. Under Sembs guidance, Norway qualified for Euro 2000, which remains their last finals appearance to date, Semb resigned at the end of an unsuccessful qualifying campaign in 2003, and was replaced by Åge Hareide. Under Hareide, Norway came close to reaching both the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008, but ultimately fell short on both occasions, then, in 2008, it all fell apart as Norway failed to win a single game the entire calendar year. Hareide resigned at the end of 2008 and his replacement, initially on a temporary basis, was the returning Egil Olsen, who began his second spell in charge with an away win against Germany, and subsequently signed a three-year contract. Olsen resigned in September 2013 after Norway lost at home to Switzerland and he was replaced with Per-Mathias Høgmo. Norways best single result is arguably the 2–1 win against Brazil on 23 June 1998 in the World Cup group stage, Norway is in fact the only team in the world that has played against Brazil and never lost. In its four matches all-time against Brazil, Norway have won twice, Norway used the national flag on a white circle as their badge from the 1920s onwards. In May 2008 the NFF unveiled a new crest, a Viking-style Dragon wrapped around the NFF logo, after massive public pressure the crest was dropped

34.
Poland national football team
–
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland. Polands home ground is the Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw and their current head coach is Adam Nawałka, the most renowned Polish team was the one of the mid-1970s that held England to a draw at Wembley Stadium to qualify for the 1974 FIFA World Cup. They defeated Brazil 1–0 to claim third place in the tournament, Poland also finished third in the 1982 tournament, beating France 3–2 in the third-place play-off. Poland also won the medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the silver medal in 1976 in Montreal. Their Olympic success was helped by an amateur squad, similar to other nations behind the Iron Curtain. Poland first qualified for the UEFA European Championship in 2008 and they also qualified automatically for Euro 2012 by virtue of being joint hosts alongside Ukraine. They finished bottom of their group on both occasions and their first win in the Euros was on 12 June 2016 in a group stage match of Euro 2016 against Northern Ireland. They went on to reach the quarterfinals, the Polish Football Federation was established on 20 December 1919 in Warsaw. Poland would play its first official match on 18 December 1921 in Budapest. Their first international win would come on 28 May 1922 where they took on Sweden in Stockholm and beat them 2–1. Poland qualified for their first ever World Cup in 1937 when they beat Yugoslavia 4–0, during their debut in the World Cup, Poland would play Brazil in a match which would become one of the most memorable matches in World Cup history. Despite Brazil not being regarded as the top team in the 1930s. Under these circumstances, the Polish team – which had never participated on such a level – was expected to lose the game against the South Americans. Thus, the defeat was not a sensation, however, all fans were surprised at the style with which the Poles played their lone game of the tournament. The white and reds got to the time, only then losing 5–6. Ernest Wilimowski, who played for Ruch Chorzów at the time, scored four of Polands five goals, Poland played what would be their last international match before the outbreak of World War II against Hungary, the runners-up in the 1938 World Cup. The match stands out as an achievement as Poland defeated the strongly favored Hungarian side 4–2, on 11 June 1946, following the aftermath of World War II, Poland played their first international friendly match, against Norway in Oslo, a 3–1 defeat. The biggest success in the years after the war was the victory against one of Europes best at the time

35.
Turkey national football team
–
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup, in 1950,1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event, Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996,2000,2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three tournaments, the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. The Turkish national team played their first ever match against Romania in 1923 drawing 2–2, zeki Rıza Sporel is considered as the first big star of Turkish football as he scored the first two goals against Romania. Turkey played their first ever match at the 1924 Summer Olympics losing 5–2 to Czechoslovakia. Although Turkey qualified for the 1950 World Cup, beating Syria 7–0, Turkey then qualified for the 1954 World Cup after a play-off with Spain. The Turkish team first lost 4–1 to Spain, but a 1–0 win a few days later initiated a replay, on that occasion, they tied 2–2 after, booking their place after a coin toss. Turkey was put in a group along with Hungary and West Germany, the Turks, however, never played Hungary due to the tournament format, and a 4–1 defeat by the Germans was followed by Turkey carrying out a 7–0 win over South Korea. Turkey lost the play-off to West Germany 7–2, in 1956 Turkey did however play Hungary, in a friendly match in Istanbul, beating what was one of the strongest teams of the era 3–1. Lefter Küçükandonyadis, all-time best player of Turkey netted in two goals during the tournament, despite the introduction of a national league, and showings by Turkish clubs in European competition, the 1960s would be a barren time for the national team. Most players from the 1954 World Cup squad were retired, the 1970s saw Turkey holding back in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers, but the team was a point too short to qualify for both Euro 1972 and Euro 1976. In the 1980s the Turkish team also suffered their worst defeats with 8–0 scorelines against Poland, yet the 1990 World Cup qualifiers would mark a turning point for Turkish football, with Turkey only missing out on qualification in the final game. Prominent players in this period were Rıdvan Dilmen, Oğuz Çetin, Rıza Çalımbay, Feyyaz Uçar, in 1990, German coach Sepp Piontek was put in charge of the national team. Under his guidance, a group of new players debuted for the national team, many of these players which include, Bülent Korkmaz, Alpay Özalan, Sergen Yalçın, Rüştü Reçber, and Hakan Şükür would become the backbone of the national team for many years. Pionteks mission came to an end in 1993, where he was replaced by Fatih Terim, Turkey qualified for its first major tournament since 1954, marking another turning point for Turkish football after having failed to qualify for both Euro 1992 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The appointment of Piontek was a move by another German coach Jupp Derwall. Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 along the way, despite a solid performance during the qualifiers, Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award, the fair-play award, Turkey failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, they however qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against Ireland

36.
UEFA Euro 1996
–
It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFAs decision to expand the tournament from eight teams. Germany won the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2–1 in the final with a goal during extra time. This was also Germanys first major title won as a unified nation, at the time of the bidding process, it had not yet been confirmed that sixteen teams would be participating. Instead, the bids were largely prepared as if hosting an eight-team tournament, all candidates had to submit their plans by 10 December 1991. The hosting of the event was contested by five bids, Austria, England, Greece, the English bid was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Lisbon on 5 May 1992. In the year preceding the decision, the English FA had dropped out plans to bid for the 1998 World Cup in order to gain the support of other UEFA members who were planning to bid for that event. The hosts, England, drew 1–1 with Switzerland in the match of Group A when Alan Shearers 23rd-minute goal was equalled by a late Kubilay Türkyilmaz penalty kick. England defeated rivals Scotland 2–0 in their game, and then produced one of their finest performances ever with a 4–1 win over the Netherlands. Patrick Kluiverts late goal for the Netherlands secured his second place in the group. Group B had Western European France and Spain, along with Balkan World Cup participants Romania and Bulgaria. France and Spain dominated the group, with France avenging Bulgaria for the 1994 qualification debacle, groups C and D saw the Czech Republic and Croatia, whose national teams had only recently come into existence, qualify for the knockout stages. The Czechs lost to Germany, the group winners, in their opener. Italys defeat meant they had to beat Germany in their game to progress. In Group D, Croatia qualified for the quarter-finals, with wins over Turkey, the loss to the Croats ultimately sent the Danes, the surprise champions of 1992, home. Turkey became the first team since the introduction of a stage to be eliminated without gaining a point or scoring a goal. The other three quarter-finalists were Portugal, Spain, and a France team featuring a young Zinedine Zidane. The knockout stages were characterised by negative, defensive play, as a result, only nine goals were scored in the seven games, the first quarter-final between the hosts and Spain ended goalless, after Spain had two goals disallowed and two claims for a penalty denied

37.
Finland national football team
–
The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland. Unfortunately, after a few years of bad performances, they dipped to a FIFA ranking of 101, Finland played its first international match on October 22,1911, losing to neighboring Sweden 2–5 in Helsinki. Finland also took part in European Championship qualifying since the 1968 event, the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki saw the Finnish hosts lose to Austria in the first round. Finland did, however, win the unofficial Nordic championship in 1964 and 1966, the results of the team improved somewhat in the late 1970s and the 1980s. Finland missed out on qualification for Euro 1980 by just a point, Finland was invited to take part in the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow after many Western countries announced they would boycott the games, but failed to progress from its group. By the mid-1990s Finland started to have more players in high-profile European leagues, in 1996 Danish Euro 1992 winning coach Richard Møller Nielsen was hired to take Finland to the 1998 World Cup. The team enjoyed mixed fortunes in the campaign, high points of which were a draw, going into the last match, Finland would have needed a win at home to Hungary to earn a place in the play-offs. They led the game 1–0 going into injury time, but scored an own goal, Møller Nielsen also tried to lead Finland to Euro 2000. In this campaign the Finns recorded a win away to Turkey. Antti Muurinen succeeded Møller Nielsen as coach in 2000, in the end, however, England and Germany proved too strong, and the Finns finished third in the group, but were the only team in that group not to lose at home. Hopes were high going into qualification for Euro 2004 after the promising last campaign and friendly wins over the likes of Norway, Belgium, however, Finland started the campaign by losing to Wales and Yugoslavia. These losses were followed by two defeats by Italy, and a 3–0 home win over Serbia and Montenegro was little consolation, as the Finns finished fourth in the group. In qualification for the 2006 World Cup Finland failed to score a point in six matches against the top three teams in their group, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Romania. Muurinen was sacked in June 2005, and he was replaced by caretaker Jyrki Heliskoski, in August 2005, it was announced that Roy Hodgson would become the new Finland coach in 2006, and he started in the job in January of that year. Hodgson stepped down as manager after they failed to qualify for Euro 2008 and his replacement was a Scotsman, Stuart Baxter, who signed a contract until the end of the 2012 European Championship qualification campaign. With this squad Finland was closer to reach the tournament stage than ever before, Finland would only have needed three more points from the Euro 2008 qualifying to reach the Euro 2008 competition. Finland was placed in Group A together with Portugal, Poland, Serbia, Belgium, Armenia, the team started the campaign very well, beating Poland 3–1 away and earning a 1–1 draw with Portugal at home. The Finns then gained four points from their difficult away ties against Armenia and Kazakhstan, drawing 0–0 with the former, on 15 November 2006, Finland beat Armenia 1–0 at home, thus remaining undefeated in the qualifying

38.
Faroe Islands national football team
–
The Faroe Islands national football team, represents the Faroe Islands in association football and is controlled by the Faroe Islands Football Association. The Faroe Islands became a member of FIFA in 1988 and UEFA in 1990 and is the fourth smallest UEFA country by population, Faroe Islands have never advanced to the finals of the FIFA World Cup or UEFA European Championship. They took part in the Island Games in 1989 and 1991 and they also took part in the Nordic Football Championship for the first time in 2000–01, the last time the competition was played. In the Faroe Islands the team is known as the landsliðið, home matches are played at Tórsvøllur. From 1930 to 1988, before international membership, the Faroe Islands only played friendly matches against Iceland, Shetland, Orkney Islands, Greenland. None of these fixtures were considered either by FIFA, nor the Faroe Islands Football Association. The Faroe Islands gained membership of FIFA on 2 July 1988, the first official victory was a 1–0 win, in a friendly against Canada in 1989. Faroe Islands participated in two Island Games, winning tournaments in 1989 and 1991. They never entered the tournament again, as the opponent teams were considered too weak a match for the Faroese side, Faroe Islands pulled one of the biggest upsets in footballing history when they beat Austria 1–0 in their first ever competitive international on 12 September 1990. The game, a Euro 92 qualifier, was played in Landskrona, Sweden, torkil Nielsen, a salesman for his local builders company scored the goal. Guðlaugsson pre-match speech goes, Think of the Faroese flag, take it with you on that field. Throw yourself into the tackles against those arrogant Austrians with one mission – to win the game for your nation, tonight you pay back your childhood home. You have the opportunity now and it is an irrepaple blow if you dont cease it, the win was against all odds and to this day, this is the story about Faroese football – and the story about sports in the Faroe Islands. American sports magazine Soccerphile rated the Faroese victory number 10 of all-time football greatest upsets, one month later the Faroe Islands lost 4–1 to Denmark at Parken, Copenhagen. The same team got another good result in the qualifying tournament, the Faroe Islands lost the remaining five matches of the tournament. Since Landskrona, Faroese football stepped up to the challenge, regurlarly getting good results against better teams, however, it was a surprise to many around Europe when Allan Simonsen in 1994 was appointed the new coach for the Faroese national team. Having had a career in Borussia Monchengladbach and F. C. Barcelona. Allan Simonsen was in charge of the Faroese team for seven years, among other things he asked the Football Association to lengthen the season, and also asked the clubs for fitter players

39.
Toftir
–
Toftir is a village in Nes Municipality on the island of Eysturoy, in the Faroe Islands. Toftir is part of a chain of villages stretching over a distance of 10 kilometres on the east side of Skálafjørður on Eysturoy island. The highest hill in Toftir, called Húkslond, is only 129 metres high, and Nes Municipality is the area in Faroe. Toftir is served by Bus 440 which connects with Bus 400 for Tórshavn at Skipanes Junction, the settlement of Toftir dates back to the landnám period. According to local lore, only one survived the Black Death. The village name prior to the Black Death is said to have been Hella, meaning slope, Toftir has one major retail store with late opening hours, one café Í Hópinum, which serves liquor, and a shop, Navia which sells woollens and also souvenirs. The limited shopping options are explained by Toftirs close proximity to Runavík, Toftir has a relatively big harbour with a big filleting plant that was started in 1969, and hosts the headquarters of Faroe Fish Market, the only real Fish Auction in the Islands. A number of new industries have also built on the harbour in recent years. The new church in Toftir, Fríðrikskirkjan was built in 1994, other local religious communities include the Inner mission which is a revivalist movement of the Church of the Faroe Islands, the Plymouth Brethren and the Bahái Community. The major sports venue in Toftir is the Svangaskarð, the first of its kind in the Faroe Islands, like most Faroese settlements, Toftir used to participate in the National Rowing sport of the Faroe Islands, but ceased participating in this sport in the 1980s. The villages football team, B68 Toftir, was established in 1962 and has won the Faroese league 3 times, the local swimming club Flot was established in 1984, it participates in the national swimming competitions in the islands. In 2009 a Volleyball team was established in Toftir, in 2010 the name Ternan was chosen for the team, Toftir is also home to one of the pioneering chess clubs in the islands, Tofta Talvfelag which has won the Islands Chess Championships once. Nes Municipality B68 FC-Toftir Nes Municipality Antiques Society & Museum Framtak

40.
1998 FIFA World Cup
–
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for mens national association football teams. It was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998, the country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the second time in the history of the tournament, defeating Morocco in the bidding process. It was the time that France staged the competition. Qualification for the finals began in March 1996 and concluded in November 1997, for the first time in the competition, the group stage was expanded from 24 teams to 32, with eight groups of four. A total of 64 matches were played in 10 stadiums located across 10 different host cities, with the match and final staged at the Stade de France. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3–0 in the final, France won their first title, becoming the seventh nation to win a World Cup, and the sixth to win the tournament on home soil. Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa made their first appearances in the finals, France was awarded the 1998 World Cup on 2 July 1992 by the executive committee of FIFA during a general meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. They defeated Morocco by 12 votes to 7, Switzerland withdrew, due to being unable to meet FIFAs requirements. This made France the third country to host two World Cups, after Mexico and Italy in 1986 and 1990 respectively, France previously hosted the third edition of the World Cup in 1938. England, who hosted the competition in 1966 and won it, were among the original applicants, blazer stated that we facilitated bribes in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. Since France won the selection process it was thought the bribery came from its bid committee. It eventually transpired that the payment was from the failed Moroccan bid. The qualification draw for the 1998 World Cup finals took place in the Musée du Louvre, as tournament hosts, France was exempt from the draw as was Brazil the defending champions. 174 teams from six confederations participated, up 24 from the previous round, in Europe, fourteen countries qualified excluding France. Ten were determined after group play, nine group winners and the best second-placed team, the other eight group runners-up were drawn into pairs of four play-off matches – the winners of which qualifying for the finals as well. The winner of the Oceanian zone advanced through to an intercontinental play-off against the runner-up of the Asian play-off, four nations qualified for the World Cup for the first time, Croatia, Jamaica, Japan and South Africa. The last team to qualify was Iran by virtue of beating Australia in a tie on 29 November 1997. It marked their first appearance in the finals since 1978, the last time Tunisia also qualified for the tournament, chile qualified for the first time since 1982

41.
UEFA Euro 2000
–
The finals of Euro 2000 were co-hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands, between 10 June and 2 July 2000. Spain and Austria also bid to host the event, the final tournament was contested by 16 nations. With the exception of the teams of the hosts, Belgium and the Netherlands. France won the tournament, by defeating Italy 2–1 in the final, Romania was the other qualifier from the group, beating England with a late penalty in their last group game. Belgium had an exit in the group stage, winning the tournaments first game against Sweden. They finished third in Group B, behind Italy and Turkey, the other co-host and favourite, the Netherlands, progressed as expected from Group D, along with World Cup winners France. The Netherlands won the group, by beating France in their last group match, also in Group D, Denmarks three losses with eight goals conceded and none scored set a new record for the worst team performance in the group stages of a Euros. Group C was memorable for the match between FR Yugoslavia and Spain, Spain needed a win to ensure progression, but found themselves trailing 3–2, after Slobodan Komljenović scored in the 75th minute. The Spanish side rescued their tournament by scoring twice in injury time to record a 4–3 victory, FR Yugoslavia managed to go through as well, despite losing because Norway and Slovenia played to a draw. Italy and Portugal maintained their records in the quarter-finals, beating Romania and Turkey, respectively. Spain fell 2–1 to France, Raul missed a penalty that ended Spanish hopes. Italy eliminated the Netherlands in the semi-finals, despite going down to ten men, in the other semi-final, Portugal lost in extra time to France after Zinedine Zidane converted a controversial penalty kick. Several Portuguese players challenged the awarding of the penalty for a handball and were given lengthy suspensions for shoving the referee. In Britain, Match of the Day named Stefano Fiores goal against Belgium the Goal of the Tournament, ahead of Patrick Kluiverts against France, qualification for the tournament took place throughout 1998 and 1999. Forty-nine teams were divided into nine groups and each played the others in their group, the winner of each group and the best runner-up qualified automatically for the final tournament. The eight other runners-up played a set of play-off matches to determine the last four qualifiers. Belgium and the Netherlands automatically qualified for the tournament as co-hosts, the following 16 teams participated in the tournament, The composition of pots 1 to 3 was based on the teams UEFA coefficient at the end of 1999. The finals draw took place on 12 December 1999, the 16 national teams each stayed in their own team base camp during the tournament

42.
Cyprus national football team
–
The Cyprus national football team represents Cyprus in association football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyprus. Cyprus home ground is the GSP Stadium in Nicosia and the current coach is Christakis Christoforou and they have never reached the finals of either the European Championship or the World Cup. The teams first match took place on 23 July 1949, one year after becoming a member of the governing body FIFA. Seven days later, the team had its first international game, in November 1960, following independence from British rule, Cyprus drew its first post-independence official match 1–1 against Israel, as part of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament. Cyprus first international victory was a 3–1 win against Greece on 27 November 1963 in a friendly, on 17 February 1968, Cyprus recorded their first competitive win, beating Switzerland 2–1 in a European Championship qualifying match in Nicosia. In 1974, the team enjoyed one of their most famous victories when they beat Northern Ireland 1–0 in Nicosia. On 12 February 1983, as part of the Euro 1984 qualifiers, Cyprus held world champions Italy to a 1–1 draw in Nicosia, four years later, in the Euro 1988 qualification, Cyprus recorded their first ever point achieved in an away match, against Poland. In 1989 they drew 1–1 with France in the World Cup qualifying match, despite a number of triumphs on home soil, Cyprus had to wait until 1992 to record their first away win, a 2–0 victory against the Faroe Islands. Results in qualifying tournaments have also improved considerably in recent times, in the qualifying stages for the 1996 UEFA European Championship, Cyprus drew 1–1 with holders Denmark. Four years later, they missed out on a place in the 2000 European Football Championship despite 3–2 victories against both Spain and Israel and a 4–0 win over San Marino. On 15 November 2000, Cyprus scored their biggest win in history by beating Andorra in Limassol 5–0 in the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification. Just one month later, on 15 November 2006, they caused surprise by holding the World Cup semi-finalists Germany to a 1–1 draw at home. On 13 October 2007, they beat Wales 3–1 in Nicosia, on 17 October 2007, Cyprus came close to a historic away victory in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland, but the hosts equalised in the last minute of the game, and the match ended 1–1. On 3 September 2010, as part of the Euro 2012 qualifiers, in the last group match, the team faced Bosnia needing a victory to finish in 3rd and rely on Belgium to beat Israel in Brussels. On 7 October 2006, a new kit was made by Diadora and it outlines a map of Cyprus in amber from the shoulder to the sleeve, with a green line running down the middle to indicate the division of the island. Cyprus currently plays home matches at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia, home matches had previously been staged at different stadiums all around the country. Until 1974 Cyprus used either the old GSP Stadium in central Nicosia, after the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, some matches were played at Tsirion Stadium in Limassol and the Makario Stadium in Nicosia. However, Cyprus returned to the GSP Stadium for the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying round matches, the fixtures were released by UEFA the same day as the draw, which was held on 23 February 2014 in Nice

43.
Latvia national football team
–
The Latvia national football team represents the country in international football competitions, such as the World Cup and the European Championships. It is controlled by the Latvian Football Federation, the body for football in Latvia. They have never qualified for the World Cup, but have qualified for the European Championship, in 2004, the team is now being managed by Marians Pahars. Latvias home ground is the Skonto Stadium in Riga, where they have played their matches since its opening in 2000, Latvia played their first match in 1922, a game against Estonia, which finished in a 1–1 draw. Latvia have won the Baltic Cup 12 times, and have played 99 official games during its period from 1922 to 1940. In 1937, the Latvian team participated in the first qualification tournament for the 1938 World Cup, Latvia were placed in Group 8, alongside Austria and Lithuania. Latvia beat Lithuania 4–2 in Riga, after an Fricis Kaņeps hat-trick, in Kaunas, they won 5–1, after two goals each from Kaņeps, Vaclavs Borduško, and Vestermans, but lost 1–2 in the decisive match against Austria, despite an early goal from Vestermans. In April 1938, the Austrian Anschluss relegated the Austrian team, however, in September 2003, Latvia surprisingly finished second, ahead of Poland, in their qualifying group for Euro 2004. This meant they qualified for the play-offs, where they were drawn against Turkey, Latvia won the first leg 1–0, through top goalscorer, Māris Verpakovskis. The second leg finished in a 2–2 draw, with Latvia winning 3–2 on aggregate and this resulted in Latvia being the first and only Baltic team qualifying for a European Championship, as well as the country itselfs first ever appearance in the tournament. At the Euro 2004, Latvia were drawn in Group D, alongside Germany, Czech Republic, Latvia faced Czech Republic in their opening match on 15 June 2004, with Verpakovskis scoring before half-time. However, the Czechs would later come back to win the game 2–1, four days later, Latvia earned a respectable 0–0 draw against Germany to earn their first point in a major tournament. They lost their match with 3–0 against Netherlands, and were eliminated, finished fourth, with one point from their draw. Before the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament, Latvia were the team who qualified to the European Championship. 13-time winners –1928,1932,1933,1936,1937,1993,1995,2001,2003,2008,2012,2014,2016, the following table shows Latvias all-time international record, correct as of 13 November 2015. *Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks, vitālijs Astafjevs has played for Latvia more than anyone else, with 167 caps from 1992 to 2010. He also held the European record for almost 7 years for most matches played for the team since autumn 2009 until summer 2016. Kaspars Gorkšs is the most capped player for Latvia with 84 appearances

44.
Riga
–
Riga is the capital and the largest city of Latvia. With 696,593 inhabitants, Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states, the city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava. Rigas territory covers 307.17 square kilometres and lies one and ten metres above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member, Rigas historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture during 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden, Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and the 2006 IIHF Mens World Ice Hockey Championships. It is home to the European Unions office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, Riga is served by Riga International Airport, the largest airport in the Baltic states. Riga is a member of Eurocities, the Union of the Baltic Cities, another theory could be that Riga was named after Riege, the German name for the River Rīdzene, a tributary of the Daugava. The river Daugava has been a trade route since antiquity, part of the Vikings Dvina-Dnieper navigation route to Byzantium. A sheltered natural harbour 15 km upriver from the mouth of the Daugava — the site of todays Riga — has been recorded, as Duna Urbs and it was settled by the Livs, an ancient Finnic tribe. Riga began to develop as a centre of Viking trade during the early Middle Ages, Rigas inhabitants occupied themselves mainly with fishing, animal husbandry, and trading, later developing crafts. German traders began visiting Riga, establishing a nearby outpost in 1158, along with German traders also arrived the monk Meinhard of Segeberg to convert the Livonian pagans to Christianity. Catholic and Orthodox Christianity had already arrived in Latvia more than a century earlier, Meinhard settled among the Livs, building a castle and church at Ikšķile, upstream from Riga, and established his bishopric there. The Livs, however, continued to practice paganism and Meinhard died in Ikšķile in 1196, in 1198, the Bishop Berthold arrived with a contingent of crusaders and commenced a campaign of forced Christianization. Berthold was killed soon afterwards and his forces defeated, pope Innocent III issued a bull declaring a crusade against the Livonians. Bishop Albert was proclaimed Bishop of Livonia by his uncle Hartwig of Uthlede, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Albert landed in Riga in 1200 with 23 ships and 500 Westphalian crusaders. In 1201, he transferred the seat of the Livonian bishopric from Ikšķile to Riga, the year 1201 also marked the first arrival of German merchants in Novgorod, via the Dvina. To defend territory and trade, Albert established the Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword in 1202, open to nobles, in 1207, Albert started on fortification of the town. Emperor Philip invested Albert with Livonia as a fief and principality of the Holy Roman Empire, until then, it had been customary for crusaders to serve for a year and then return home

45.
2002 FIFA World Cup
–
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup which took place from 31 May to 30 June 2002 in South Korea and Japan. Brazil won the tournament for a fifth time, winning the final against Germany 2–0. The victory meant Brazil qualified for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup for the fifth time, in the third place play-off match against South Korea, Turkey won 3–2 taking third place in only their second ever FIFA World Cup finals. China PR, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia made their first appearances at the finals with Turkey making its first appearance since 1954, additionally, Turkey took third place and South Korea managed to reach the semi-finals, beating Spain, Italy and Portugal en route. South Korea in particular, faced scrutiny and allegations of corruption due to their victories over Italy. However, the most potent team at the tournament, Brazil, prevailed, South Korea and Japan were selected as hosts by FIFA on 31 May 1996. Initially, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico presented three rival bids, however, the two Asian countries agreed to unite their bids shortly before the decision was made, and they were chosen unanimously in preference to Mexico. This was the first World Cup to be hosted by two countries, at the time the decision was made, Japan had never qualified for a World Cup finals. The only other countries to have awarded a World Cup without previously having competed in a final tournament are Italy in 1934. The unusual choice of host proved an issue for fans in Europe. With games taking place in the European morning, some schools, a total of 199 teams attempted to qualify for the 2002 World Cup which qualification process began with the preliminary draw held in Tokyo on 7 December 1999. Defending champions France and co-hosts South Korea and Japan qualified automatically and this was the final World Cup in which the defending champions qualified automatically. 14 places were contested by UEFA teams, five by CAF teams, four by CONMEBOL teams, four by AFC teams, the remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and UEFA and between CONMEBOL and OFC. Four nations qualified for the finals for the first time, China, Ecuador, Senegal, as of 2014, this was the last time Turkey, China, Republic of Ireland and Senegal qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals. Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, and both Poland and Portugal for the first time since 1986, all seven previous World Cup-winning nations qualified, the first time so many previous champions had been present at a finals tournament. The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament, the seeds comprised Pot A in the draw. Pot B contained the remaining 11 European sides, Pot C contained five unseeded qualifiers from CONMEBOL, Pot D contained unseeded sides from the CONCACAF region and Africa. This was the last FIFA World Cup with the champion in Group A

46.
Belgium national football team
–
The Belgian national football team has officially represented Belgium in association football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian teams supervising body. Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, most of Belgiums home games are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels. Belgiums national team has participated in three major football competitions. Other notable performances are victories over four reigning world champions—West Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium has long-standing football rivalries with its Dutch and French counterparts, having played both teams nearly every year from 1905 to 1967. The squad has been known as the Red Devils since 1906, during the national player career of forward Paul Van Himst, the most-praised Belgian footballer of the 20th century, Belgium took third place at Euro 1972. After that, they experienced two golden ages with many gifted players, in the first period, which lasted from the 1980s to the early 1990s, the team finished as runners-up at Euro 1980 and fourth in the 1986 World Cup. In the second, under guidance of Marc Wilmots in the 2010s, between September 2016 and October 2017, they are competing in the European qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. Belgium was one of the first mainland European countries to play association football and its practice in Belgium began on 26 October 1863, after an Irish student walked into the Josephites College of Melle with a leather ball. Initially an elitist pastime, during the following decades association football supplanted rugby as Belgiums most popular football sport, on 11 October 1900, Beerschot AC honorary president Jorge Díaz announced that Antwerp would host a series of challenge matches between Europes best football teams. After some organisational problems, on 28 April 1901, Beerschots pitch hosted its first tournament, in which a Belgian A-squad, Belgium won, and beat the Netherlands in all three follow-up games, FIFA does not recognise these results because Belgium fielded some English players. On 1 May 1904, the Belgians played their first official game, against France at the Stade du Vivier dOie in Uccle, twenty days later, the football boards of both countries were among the seven FIFA founders. At that time, the Belgian squad was chosen by a committee drawn from the six or seven major clubs. From 1912, UBSSA governed football only and was renamed UBSFA, during the Great War, the national team only played unrecognised friendlies, with games in and against France. This triumph led them to a high second place in the World Football Elo Ratings. In the three 1920s Summer Olympics, they achieved results, and played their first intercontinental match. Over the following decade, however, Belgium lost all of their matches at the first three FIFA World Cup final tournaments, according to historian Richard Henshaw, The growth of in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and South America left Belgium far behind. Although World War II hindered international football events in the 1940s, Belgium qualified for only one of eight major tournaments during the 1950s and the 1960s, the 1954 World Cup

47.
UEFA Euro 2004
–
The final tournament was hosted for the first time in Portugal, from 12 June to 4 July 2004, after their bid was selected on 12 October 1999, over those of Spain and Austria/Hungary. A total of thirty-one matches were played in ten venues across eight cities – Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Guimarães, Faro/Loulé, Leiria, Lisbon and Porto. As in the 1996 and 2000 editions, the tournament was contested by 16 teams – the hosts plus the 15 teams that successfully overcame the qualification round. Latvia secured their first participation in a tournament after overcoming Turkey in the play-offs. The tournament was rich in surprises and upsets, Germany, Spain and Italy were eliminated in the stage, while France. The Portuguese team recovered from a defeat against Greece to reach the final, eliminating England. For the first time in a football tournament, the last match featured the same teams as the opening match. Portugal was defeated by Greece with a goal from Angelos Charisteas, Greeces triumph was unexpected, considering that they had only qualified for two other major tournaments, the UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they failed to win a single match. In the closing ceremony, Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado performed her single and official tournament theme song, Group A opened with a shock as Greece, ranked outsiders from start, defeated the hosts 2–1. Giorgos Karagounis put the Greeks ahead after only seven minutes, an injury time goal from Cristiano Ronaldo proved no more than a consolation. Greece then drew with Spain, before losing to Russia in their last group stage game, Portugal, meanwhile, recovered from their opening defeat by defeating Russia 2–0, who had their keeper Sergei Ovchinnikov sent off. Nuno Gomes scored the goal against Spain, which ensured Portugal finished first place in Group A. Greece advanced to the quarter-finals as runners-up, ahead Spain on goals scored, France, the holders, and England ended their Group B encounter in furious fashion as the French scored twice in injury time to go from 1–0 down to 2–1 winners. Zinedine Zidane scored in the first minute of time and two minutes later, an error by the English defence gave a France penalty and Zidane fired in the winner. Englands other two games were memorable for the performances of their young star Wayne Rooney, only 18 at the time, Rooneys goal-scoring ability proved instrumental in victories over Switzerland and Croatia. France and England qualified from the group as winners and runners-up, Group C featured a three-way tie between Sweden, Denmark and Italy for first spot. All matches between the three sides had ended in draws and all three had beaten Bulgaria, Italy were ultimately eliminated on the number of goals scored between the three sides, after Sweden and Denmark drew 2–2 and qualified to the quarter-finals as group winners and runners-up. The Italians went so far as to accuse Sweden and Denmark of fixing their match, the Czech Republic took the first place in Group D after becoming the only team to win all three of their group matches